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Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Best Movies You Probably Haven't Seen

Due to a misspent youth that involved late nights, pockets full of change, and a video store with endless stacks of 50 cent movies, I've seen a lot of films no one ever should. I've also seen a lot of good movies that for one reason or another have quietly slipped through the cracks. Often considered to be "bad movies" I've found many to be enjoyable. These good-bad movies, deserve a chance to be remembered. So I shall strive to do just that.

This week's feature:

Suffering Bastards (1989)

The movie is co-written by John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and Bernard McWilliams who also directed but hasn't done much else. Starring John C. McGinley, David Warshofsky, and Eric Bogosian (Law and Order, Talk Radio).

The Rundown:

The story of Buddy (McGinley) and Al (Warshofsky) Johnson, two lounge singers, whose quest to buy back their mother's nightclub leads them to steal three hundred thousand dollars from their shady boss Mr. Leech (Bogosian)

Why you should see it:

As mentioned, the film is written by John. C. McGinley, who plays Dr. Cox on Scrubs. I was a fan of him long before Scrubs. Usually he's just a supporting actor. Taking the lead here, means more screen time. The film is a surreal blend of humor and odd characters that features Michael J. Anderson (carnivale) as a little person Elvis, and Michael Wincott (The Crow, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) as a real estate agent who fancies himself a star. Anyone familiar with Wincott's gravelly voice, will get a kick out of hearing him talk without the trademark rasp.

Why it slipped into obscurity:

McGinley is a great actor who can easily slip into drama or comedy with ease. Unfortunately that doesn't mean he's a great writer. The film has moments of absolute brilliance, but these scenes are strung together with a script that feels like it was written in college. Add to that a poor production quality and you've got a mix that would feel out of place on a Sunday afternoon airing on MYTV.

Scene to savor:

While I actually own this one now, having purchased it online a few years back, I haven't watched it in awhile. Largely due to the fact that I don't own a VCR anymore. That said, I would go with the end scene. It's a ridiculous twist that has little setup and feels almost tacked on, yet is so hysterical you just accept it.

Bad Movies That Are Good Scale: As far as bad movies go, this is a really excellent one to watch. I would rate this 4 out 5

3 comments:

That sounds genius. I've been a fan of McGinley for years, n'all. I would actually bellow "McGINLEY!" at the screen whenever he appeared in some minor role. Then he was in "Scrubs" and that's on ALL THE TIME, so the novelty wore off.